Sleep
by project ecto
Summary: In which Shinji watches Hiyori sleep, in more ways than one.


**My first ShiYori fic! I really love these two, so what else can I do****but write a fic about them? Without further ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

******Title: Sleep**

**Words: 1924**

Shinji likes it when Hiyori sleeps. She was a heavy sleeper, silent and soft. And _finally_, he could have some peace and quiet. Not to mention he's also free from Hiyori's constant abuse.

Tonight, Hiyori had fallen asleep in the training room. She didn't mean to, really. She had been training for hours and hardly ate anything, with what's going on in Soul Society and what's to come. Hiyori just wanted to take a short nap and resume training, but it seemed weariness had taken over her body and before she knew it, she was leaning against the rock, fast asleep.

It was Shinji who found her like that. Seeing how everyone had already retired for the night except Hiyori, he took the trouble (because he will never admit he was concerned about her) to look for her and tell her to go to bed. When he saw her fast asleep against the rock, he allowed a toothy grin to grace his features. After all, Hiyori wasn't awake to insult him and say what an ugly smile he has.

Shinji walked over to Hiyori, wanting to wake her up. Nudging her slightly, he called out rather loudly, "Oi, Hiyori, don't sleep against the rocks, ya gonna get aches when ya wake. Get up."

Hiyori fidgeted a little and leaned on her other side, away from Shinji. He sighed, knowing it's difficult to wake Hiyori once she fell asleep.

"Hiyori, get up. At least go back to yer room."

Again, Hiyori simply fidgeted, only this time, she swatted her hand at him, as if chasing away an annoying fly. Shinji sighed again, that leaves him with no choice then. He's going to (attempt to) carry Hiyori up to her room. Knowing full well Hiyori's personality, she'd probably kick him in the face if she woke up and found herself in Shinji's arms. However, that was still better than leaving her sleeping here. So Shinji took her sword and swung it over his shoulders, while scooping her up in his arms, placing one arm underneath her shoulder blades and the other under the knee, bracing himself if Hiyori suddenly wakes up and punches him. When she stayed still and continued sleeping like a log, he proceeded to carry her out of the training room and up to her room.

Upon reaching her room, Shinji set her down on her bed gently and put away her sword. Hiyori tossed and turned before settling in a new position so she could sleep more comfortably. She seemed so tranquil when she's asleep, totally different from her normal self, and it was something Shinji never seen often. He pulled out her hair ties and let her blonde locks fall. Shinji always liked her hair down; he told her it made her look less like a monkey and more like a girl. And because he liked it down, Hiyori purposely tied it up.

Another thing that Shinji liked was to watch her sleep. It reminded him that even though Hiyori was a violent monkey (and still is), she had a feminine side (however sparse that may be). The blonde Vaizard settled down next to her bed and he could hear her soft breathing. Shinji tentatively brushed away a lock of her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

She would wake up to Hollows, Arrancars, and even the other Vaizards, but never to Shinji. It seemed Hiyori let down her guard when it came to him. Willingly. And that made Shinji smile. He watched her for a few moments and he too, fell into a slumber, his hand near the tip of her nose.

The next morning, Shinji got one hell of a wake up call from Hiyori when she woke up and wondered why the hell was Shinji asleep beside her bed.

-x-X-x-

But when Hiyori was sliced in two by Ichimaru Gin and although Captain Unohana patched her up, she still didn't wake. The captain of the fourth division told them she will if her will to live is strong. The Vaizards knew she was strong mentally and believed she would wake but when Hiyori stayed in a coma for a few months, their faith was wearing thin.

Hiyori was silent, the only sounds coming from her were her ragged breaths. She was not noisy anymore and Shinji wished with all his heart that she would just yell at him, insult him and abuse him. Just do _anything_ to give a hint that she's awake. He was losing ground with her.

Shinji hated watching her sleep now. He wanted her shouts to fill the room, wanted her sandal slapped across his face, wanted her to call him 'Baldy' once again. But she didn't stir, not once.

And his heart ached. For her. He didn't want to see her like this. Not yelling, not talking, hardly breathing. He wanted the old Hiyori back. He missed her. And her fragile form never failed to serve as a reminder of how she became this way. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Shinsou pierce her skin and him dragging it out of her body, tearing her clothes, her flesh, spilling blood. He told her, dammit, he already told her. But Hiyori always let her emotions get the better of her and that time was no exception. He watched her fall and found himself clutching her, begging her to hang on to him. It was so fresh in his mind.

As he stood over her now, hands trembling from clenching them too tightly, he felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. This was Hiyori hurt, _his_ Hiyori barely hanging onto life. Her face was pale, her body thin and lifeless. Dammit. Hiyori wasn't supposed to be like that, she wasn't supposed to be so vulnerable.

Shinji bent down and held her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. And he did what he always does when he watched her sleep. He traced a finger down her face, brushing away a lock of her blonde hair and tucked it behind her ear.

He pretended Hiyori was just sleeping, like every other day, and by dawn, she would be awake, wondering why the hell was Shinji sleeping beside her bed.

_Just a sign. Just a sign would do. Please._

-x-X-x-

It was on a fine Spring day, when the sky was bright and the air smelled like fresh grass, when she woke. It was as if she was given a chance to start anew, just like the flowers blooming once more after being withered during the winter. Hiyori had refused (quite profusely) to be a patient in the fourth division and insisted on going home. However, with much persuasion and pleading, she agreed to attend the regular and obligatory check-ups before heading home.

And when she was home at last and her yells filled the room in the World of the Living once more, Shinji didn't regret wishing with all his heart that Hiyori would wake up.

Today, Hiyori was making a fuss about how everybody's not treating her seriously during training. She claimed they had gone easy on her. Which was true actually. She hadn't fully recovered from her injuries yet and parts of her body were still covered in bandages. But she insisted on having a spar with the other Vaizards. They complied of course, but did not use their full strength against her. After all, they did not want to reopen her wounds (in actual fact, they didn't want to risk being yelled at by Shinji for over-exerting Hiyori, or worse). So they restrained and that got Hiyori mad.

"All ya wimps are not taking me seriously!" she shouted.

Hacchi sighed. "You shouldn't over-exert yourself; there is no rush to start sparring."

Mashiro nodded in agreement. "Hiyorin~ Why don't you take it easy for now? I'm afraid my Super Mashiro Kick might break a few more of your bones, you're already injured as it is!"

Hiyori's vein twitched in her forehead. "Don't ya get it! I've already wasted enough time in that damn coma!"

As she continued yelling and the rest tried to persuade her to stop, Shinji watched from afar. He understood how Hiyori wanted to get her fighting abilities back to its peak; she had blamed herself for falling prey to Aizen's taunts and getting injured. After watching for a few moments, Shinji decided he had had enough. Hiyori seriously needed to stop trying to self destruct. He hopped off the second level and landed on the ground next to them.

"Okay okay, that's enough."

Silence followed before Hiyori spoke up irritably. "What, Baldy? Ya ready to fight now? What were ya doing up there anyway?"

Shinji sighed. "I'm not gonna spar with ya Hiyori. Seriously, ya gotta stop ordering everyone to fight with ya."

"Shut up Baldy. I don't take orders from ya!"

"Neither do they take orders from ya." With a jerk of his head, he signaled for everyone to leave, and they gladly did so.

Hiyori would have stopped them and stomped on Shinji's face but she was too exhausted and beginning to feel a little pain in her ribs, but she wasn't going to admit that. He sauntered over to her, hands in his pocket and heard her ragged breathing.

"Ya gotta stop tryin' ta kill yerself."

"I'm not tryin'-tch, ya don't understand."

"I do. Ya guilty about lettin' ya emotions get the better of ya. Ya want to prove that you're stronger than that."

Hiyori stayed silent; he had hit the nail on the head.

"And ya gotta stop tying your hair like that," Shinji said suddenly, pulling Hiyori's hair ties out, letting her blonde hair fall down her shoulders, a few strands sticking to her neck with sweat.

"Oi!" She jerked away and attempted to slap his hand away but he was too fast. As soon as she reached out her arm to snatch it back, pain shot through her body and she keeled over, clutching at her side.

"Tch!"

"See what I mean?" He bent down so he was on the same eye level as her. "Ya don't have ta prove anything. We know. Ya can't blame yerself, Hiyori. Aizen is a devious man, he found your weakness and used it against ya, it wasn't wrong of ya to want to defend your beliefs. Anybody woulda done that. So stop beating yourself up over it, it's pathetic."

"...Shut up Shinji. And stop changing the subject like that." He was taken by surprise actually, he thought Hiyori would call him something nasty after all that corny stuff he said. "Where did ya learn how ta talk like that? It's disgusting."

"Whatever. Just get some rest now, I don't want ya to end up all bandaged again." And without thinking, he placed a hand on her hair gently and dropped a kiss to her head.

Needless to say, Hiyori's eyes snapped open and used her newfound strength to whip her sandal across his face, leaving a red mark that would definitely stay for a few days. She stalked away, ears red and blushing. And for the rest of the day, she never failed to throw an insult in Shinji's face or abuse him. But what did not escape Shinji was how her cheeks were pinker than usual.

Hiyori does violence to him on a regular basis but nope, Shinji didn't regret wishing with all his heart that Hiyori would wake up.

Not even once.

-Owari-

**There! I want to know what you guys think of my first ShiYori fic.****Honestly speaking, I'm not exactly fond of their talking and isn't used****to writing dialogue like that, so I hope it worked out alright. Leave****me a comment! And thanks for reading!**


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